Africa and Türkiye held the 3rd Ministerial Review Conference prior to their fourth joint Summit scheduled to take place in 2026 on the African soil. The Africa Türkiye Ministerial Review Conference, which was co-organised by the African Union Commission and the Government of Türkiye was hosted by the Republic of Djibouti from 2-3 November 2024.
The Africa-Türkiye partnership was formalised at the 2008 İstanbul Summit and the last Summit held in December 2021 adopted the 2021 İstanbul Declaration and a Joint Action Plan 2022-2026. The partnership mainly focuses on five areas of strategic cooperation, namely Peace, Security and Governance; Trade, Investment and Industry; Education, STI skills, Youth and Women Development; Infrastructure Development and Agriculture; and Promoting Resilient Health Systems.
The Joint Action Plan 2022-2026 constitutes a Road Map to further enhance cooperation between Türkiye and the African Union, in line with the priorities of African Union’s Agenda 2063 and its Ten-Year Implementation Plans. During the Third Ministerial Review Conference, Ministers adopted a Joint Implementation Report, which highlights activities of the Joint Action Plan 2022-2026, that were implemented during the first 2 years (2022-2023) and the first semester of 2024.
“Since the formalisation of the Türkiye-Africa Partnership in 2008, we have travelled a rich journey, marked by three Summits, Ministerial meetings, such as this one, accompanied by Declarations and especially Plans of Action, whose implementation has given a strong boost to what was initially only a generous aspiration of Africa and Türkiye”, said H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission during the opening ceremony.
Mr. Moussa Faki added that this meeting is part of a particular logic, that of a review and evaluation of the Joint Plan of Action 2022-2024, backed by the broader Plan of Action 2022-2026 that was chosen as a Roadmap. It is, therefore, an important milestone in the life of the Africa-Türkiye Partnership.
“The Review of the 2022-2024 Plan of Action should make it possible to identify the broad outlines of the future of our Partnership. This cannot be enough with an endless repetition of meetings where we are satisfied with declarations of intent. ‘It is high time to translate our words into action. It is not obligatory to focus on major achievements all at once, in a single stroke of time. History, all history, is built in stages”, the AUC Chair emphesised. (Complete speech of the AUC Chairperson available on www.au.int).
H.E. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the Foreign Minister of Djibouti acknowledged the Africa-Turkiye two decades partnership saying that it has certainly come a long way in paving the way in front of this cooperation, based on the Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the SDG's 2030.
“Given the global challenges of climate change, food security and energy transition, we must adopt innovative approaches and focus on resilience, mitigation plans and solidarity. Youth and women are the most affected groups. it is indeed paramount to put them at the center of our policies with greater inclusivity”, he added.
Addressing the ministerial opening session H.E. Mr. Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey highlighted on the strong historical ties, deep rooted people-to-people affinity and similar visions for the future that provides a solid basis for Turkiye-Africa relations. “Our goal is to broaden and deepen our engagement with the African Union. “Our approach to African countries completely matches the founding principles of the African Union and in conformity with the Agenda 2063 of the Union”, he emphasised.
“Turkiye strongly supports Africa’s bid to sustain its rightful position in the international system and making sure Africa’s voice is registered. “We are confident that Africa as an important voice of the world system will join the peaceful resolution efforts for conflicts around the Middle East”, he added.
Officially opening the joint ministerial review conference H.E. Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mauritania and the Chairperson of the AU Executive Council said, “Over the past two decades, the African-Turkish partnership has been strengthened on the basis of equality, mutual respect, trust, and mutually beneficial cooperation. In this context, our meeting today is to discuss a number of issues related to the Joint Action Plan for the African-Turkish Partnership 2022–2026, in the strategic areas identified by the Istanbul Declaration, as a roadmap to enhance cooperation between the African Union and the Republic of Turkey. This plan aligns with the priorities of Agenda 2063 and its ten-year implementation plans on the one hand, and on the other hand anticipates future prospects for cooperation in various fields such as peace, security, governance, investment, education, youth, health, and infrastructure”.
“In addition to being a framework for constructive cooperation, the African-Turkish partnership has become a forum for noble human values and for defending just causes”, he underscored.
The ministerial review conference adopted a final communique, highlighting all the areas of cooperation under the partnership as well as various commitments to come out of the conference. The communique will be available on the African Union website www.au.int
Source: African Union